You have no idea how wonderful and useful your page is. These videos where you go through the process of treating patients with different conditions are so helpful and interesting to someone going into the field. Still YEARS away from working on becoming an NP, but it's so nice to see videos like this from such a knowledgeable NP!
Have you ever prescribed Hydroxyzine for sleep latency paired with anxiety? I went to my primary care NP and she prescribed me that med in order to help with falling asleep and it works SO well. It also worked on a moderate level to help lower my general state of anxiety. I was hesitant at first with it being an antihistamine, however, feel grateful she put me on it :)
Off label use for Nurse Practitioners can only be completed when this is something tour collaborating physician can do? Does that make sense? I guess I’m just saying is there some grey with NPs prescribing for off label use? Do you know the rules, codes etc as it pertains to this? Thanks for any thoughts or education surrounding this -Amanda
Great question. The FDA approved for off-label use of medication. This practice is common and legal. I recommend you review collaborative practice in your state with regard to prescribing off label. Verbiage is different from state to state. In general terms, an NP can prescribe medications off label but should be supported by evidence-based practice.
I think the issue with sleep hygiene is-it's the first recommendation in practically every resource on insomnia. If someone seeking health care for insomnia hasn't already adopted these practices, it's probably because it isn't viable for them. You're likely to be saying, "Try this thing that you tried to do / wish you could do / did and found ineffective."
You make a good point. In my experience this is where having a relationship with the patient is helpful. This is a conversation. Prior to giving recommendations the provider should ask what has the patient already tried.
